The Shadow Tycoon
Copyright© 2026 by CaffeinatedTales
Chapter 103: The First Cut at Sabine
Before long, inside the manager’s office, Kane kept glancing at Julie. He thought there might be something wrong with his ears, because the man sitting in the manager’s chair was talking about something rather different from what he had imagined.
“Women’s football...” William described the scene. “Girls wearing light, cool clothing, running and colliding across a green lawn in those big oafs’ protective gear.”
“Sweat will cling to their skin. They’ll become the focus of every eye in the place. The crowd’s gaze will shift with every move they make, and people will cheer for the girls’ victories.”
“Think about it. What kind of scene would that be?”
Under William’s simple yet not-so-simple description, Mr. Fox, Mr. Fox Jr., and Kane all began letting their imaginations run along the lines he had drawn.
In the fantasy they shared almost at the same time, it really was a magnificent, almost epic game. Just thinking about it made a man’s fighting spirit rise and his blood run hot.
The first to come back to himself was Mr. Fox. That might have had something to do with his age. In truth, he was not old, and he had kept himself in good shape. He looked only in his forties.
But in certain respects, a man could not refuse to admit age. He was not like Manager Kane, who still had some connection to sports and had maintained decent physical condition. Nor was he like Mr. Fox Jr., who was still young and had youth’s natural advantage.
Next, Mr. Fox Jr. also came back from his fantasy. His face was faintly flushed. Only after that did Manager Kane recover.
Mr. Fox nodded. “I think I understand what you mean. But we all know a game needs two sides. Who do we play against?”
That was an excellent question. If the point was merely to watch women run and collide, there were better places for people to go and enjoy that sort of thing. At its core, William’s women’s football was not only about admiring the girls’ energy. Winning and losing were also a crucial part of it.
The purpose of athletic competition was victory. The women were part of the embellishment, not the whole thing, because something built entirely on that would not go far.
“Teams organized by local businesses. Once people see the profit in it, they’ll join on their own. You have to understand, women’s football isn’t covered by the Federation’s sports laws.”
“Beyond that, raising a company’s profile, product endorsements, and the value of the players themselves will all become profit points. People will see the benefits.”
With one sentence, William broke open the core reason women’s football could succeed. A sporting event not covered by the sports laws meant its live broadcast rights and broadcasting rights did not belong to the Intermodal Authority. As long as the games could be made popular, broadcasting rights fees alone would be enough for everyone to make plenty of money.
And it cost far less to support female players than male players. Women’s football was still a desert. There were no star players here. Give the women a proper salary, and they would be willing to sign contracts.
By the time they became stars, the organizers would already have earned enough money, and could make another sum off them through transfer fees, the sale of star players.
Then fresh blood would flow into the market, and a new round of training and the harvest that followed would begin again. The earlier one entered the field, the more one would earn.
Mr. Fox continued along William’s line of thought. He thought of even more, and felt it really could be tried. In any case, according to William, the initial investment would not be large. Even if it failed, it would not hurt badly.
“We can try it first...” Mr. Fox gave his final position.
William nodded with satisfaction. “You won’t regret it...”
For the first period, women’s football would likely spread only within the state and gradually into a few neighboring states. The companies had to be allowed to see the profits and benefits in it before they would enter the field.
Then William looked at Kane. Kane froze for a moment before coming back to himself, then hurriedly stood up, somewhat ill at ease.
“Kane, what do you think of my plan?”
William looked at Kane. Kane’s expression was complicated. He disliked William’s style and attitude very much. In Kane’s view, William was clearly treating the football club as a tool for making money. Capitalists were all like that.